# Novel wear resistant coatings with gradient interfaces for long lasting hip prostheses

> **NIH NIH R43** · DURAHIP, LLC · 2020 · $251,873

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to improve the clinical
success and longevity of orthopedic prostheses for younger and active Americans to get relief from debilitating
pain and to improve the quality of their life. The long-term survival of total hip replacements (THR) in young,
active patients with higher demands remains a challenge for orthopedic surgeons. From 2000 to 2010, while
THR procedures rose by 92% in people age 75 and older, they increased by 205% in young people ages 45 to
54. Patients aged 50 years or younger with artificial hips are at high risk for wear-related complications and
mechanical failure mostly due to hip dislocation due to their higher levels of activity. Currently, Biolox Delta
and Oxinium™ femoral heads are commonly used for THRs for the increasing population of young, active
patients. Biolox Delta heads have shown remarkable wear performance and low fracture rate in the mid-term
follow-ups. However, their long term in vivo stability is a concern due to surface instability of zirconia content.
Several clinical cases of damaged Oxinium™ heads after hip dislocation have raised concerns about their
durability. The focus of this project is to develop a new kind of artificial hip joint, made of hard ceramic coatings
on tough Ti alloy femoral heads, with high durability to damage by hip dislocation. Our innovation expands
scientific and technical understanding of such ceramic coatings by investigating methodologies that form
diffusion-bonded ceramic coatings on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy substrate, to provide a more durable implant surface.
Our long-term goal is to bring this technology to market to provide a pain-free, healthy life style for thousands
of Americans undergoing joint replacement surgeries every year. The hypothesis of the project is that a wear
resistant alumina coating supported by a diffusion bonded interface and a tough Ti alloy substrate exhibits
higher durability than Oxinium™ against the damage by hip dislocation and the production of wear debris. In
Aim 1, we will demonstrate the innovative methods that form alumina coatings with damage resistance higher
than Oxinium™. In Aim 2, we will demonstrate that wear performance of the designed alumina coatings
against highly cross-linked polyethylene (XPE) is better than that of Oxinium™ against XPE. A successful
outcome of this project will be a durable ceramic coated head fabricated by a superior technology that will
provide a combination of high wear resistance and high reliability for long-lasting total hip prostheses, with
lower risk of implant failures, fewer clinical complications and revision surgeries, making a tremendous
difference in the quality of life for people who need hip replacements. The phase II proposal will be focused on
designing and developing the process parameters to apply designed methods to 3D femoral heads; predicting
in vivo performance by hip simulator testing and biologi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10156525
- **Project number:** 1R43AR077478-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DURAHIP, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** ROHIT Khanna
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $251,873
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-11 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10156525

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10156525, Novel wear resistant coatings with gradient interfaces for long lasting hip prostheses (1R43AR077478-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10156525. Licensed CC0.

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